^ so i was actually straight edge for a few months back in 6th grade.. then pot came along.. and i remember telling myself "if this gets too bad or out of hand, ill just go back to edge.."

LOL.. that was.. i dont even know how many years ago.. im 29 now..

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also, a plus about sobering up and having a punk attitude is that its a lot easier to give a crap less what people think of you.. i know a lot of people, including myself, struggle with that once they put down the substances and start to feel things..

my punk friend in recovery had to remind me of this tonight.. when some unhealthy people from my past popped up whove been doing a lot of talking lately..

just thought id add that.. on the positive tip..

Right you are. In fact, just last week I got my old "rebellious" haircut I wore many years ago (with just enough of a mature edge to it this time).

I've drawn a lot from this whole period of my life that I now use in my recovery. It has saved my rear-end more than once. Just like you, it does help make it easier to let the crap people say roll off my back.

Great topic.

Permanent Midnight by Jerry Stahl is one helluva read for opiate freaks. 12 Step in nature but, my God, what a story. Stahl was the creator of that TV Show Alf. Permanent Midnight was made into a movie starring Ben Stiller but the book is really great.

Good to find some fellow pUnKS around here! I must admit I found the whole straight edge thing confusing. I grew up through that whole pistols, buzzcocks, stranglers thing. Most of what I listen to these days does not have messages about addiction in it. I was always afraid that music I really loved whilst out of it, would sound like crap if I wasn't intoxicated. Two years or more into sanity, I enjoy Coil, Throbbing Gristle, or Nurse With Wound just as much as when I used to abuse drugs. It's great that music can take you to other places! A big part of my recovery has been keeping busy and learning electronics so I can build synthesisers to make my own 'weird' music/noise.

Took me a while to work out that drugs don't make you 'alternative'... you either are or you aren't. By abusing substances we just homogenise ourselves and become zombies like everyone else. You won't change society by being zonked out. When you do that, they have you where they want you. You aren't a threat to their system. It's when you get sober that you have any chance in hell of changing things!

Alright (punks)... haha... that's the end of my rant. I'm off to soap up my hair and do something creative with safety pins! A pleasant evening to you all...

Never a fan of Stiller although I love both his parents. I have to say he should have won the Oscar for Permanent Midnight though. I can't rate the book or movie highly enough.

My punk rock College English Lit & Comp teacher exposed me to this great piece of literature.

zombies.
 

so, so true.. my friend always says this.. that they have you right where they want you..

[QUOTE=simian66;3108445]
Took me a while to work out that drugs don't make you 'alternative'... you either are or you aren't. By abusing substances we just homogenise ourselves and become zombies like everyone else. You won't change society by being zonked out. When you do that, they have you where they want you. You aren't a threat to their system. It's when you get sober that you have any chance in hell of changing things! QUOTE]

That sounds a lot like Sad But True by Metallica...

Wow, those are some of me and my mates favorite bands! You don't hear them mentioned much anymore, to be sure! We have had the good luck to see Psychic TV several times in the past decade, amazing shows, Genesis P. Orridge still has an amazing presence. He seems much less scary now since he is also a she, for some reason. Odd, he/she is the only musicaian I have ever kissed on the lips. Just a peck, it just happened, odd, after a show in Brooklyn. So much for my brushes with obscure fame!

^ d@mn dude.. were you around for bad brains and the dc guys coming thru to ny? or reagan youth, even worse, gorilla biscuits, beastie boys (when they played punk)?? or no, not that old?

Let's see...I graduated HS and went off to college in 1986, but before that, lived in a very remote part of Michigan...so during high-school, I missed seeing a lot of things, as it was just so far away. But in college, I did see more bands...Dead Kennedys, MDC, Mr. T Experiance, Crucif****, and a lot of local bands I can't recall! Oh, and the Butthole Surfers when Locust Abortion Technician just came out, that was the single best show I have ever seen, the two drummers, the weird dancing naked lady, the images they projected in the background of Charlie's Angels mixed with images of Ronald Reagan and colon surgery...you really didn't need any drugs at that show :)

I still like going to see music, only it has gotten a bit harder...I still find new acts I like, though, but I do have a kind of nostalgia for the past.

still pretty lucky.. a lot of those bands still do tours/shows.. depends on where you live, i guess..

anyway, i enjoy the hardcore punk with the sxe message.. id jump in that lifestyle if it werent for my nicotine habit.. which is the last thing i need to be focusing on right now..

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one of my fav groups.. also happen to be edge..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWIptubaLOA

err.. couldnt find out how to post it..

Oh wow! Great to hear you guys appreciate all this amazing music! And Locust Abortion Technician gets a mention too! I was just playing that album yesterday after years of forgetting about it. Listening to it sober has only made it weirder. They must have had fun making that album... and what a great twisted album cover!

I never got to see any of the original first wave of Industrial music groups. My family migrated from the UK to Australia in 83 so I missed out on a lot of that stuff. I'd love to meet Genesis P Orridge! Lucky you HuskyPup!!! Still, I did get to see some great punk bands over the years. Highly recommend the Buzzcocks for a good night out. Met them a couple of times. They are very obliging chaps!

I'm away from home at the moment visiting my son, but will be returning tomorrow. And I'll be sure to check back here. Always nice to find a warm spot in the swimming pool!

I mainly listen to hardcore music and some straight edge bands like throwdown, terror, xafbx, lionheart, haveheart, bishop, casey jones, xtyrantx to name a couple for ya.

tried and true
 

hey there, i quit drinking/smoking july 5th 2011...i have always listened to straight edge/hardcore and always related to the message. but now that i am living a life free and clear of all mind altering substance, i have a whole new passion for the music. times are tough sometimes...and in my hardest times, breakdowns are the best medicine. this lifestyle is better than i could have ever imagined and i look forward to each day....i am free

bane-can we start again

Can we start again, go back to what it meant back then, open minds and open hearts, the things that set us apart

Was it more than words/and do they still
apply/and do you still believe/well so do I

I was a 15 year old kid with nowhere to fit in, I just wanted to skate, listen to my Suicidal tape/when someone told me about a place where the strange were accepted, and judged by what's inside, A scene of truly open minds

Can we start again, go back to what it meant back then, open minds and open hearts, The things that set us apart

Somewhere, somehow, everything has changed, look at what we've gotten ourselves caught up in

The same mindless clicks, the same high school ****, all the walls you scream about breaking down /I've watched you build brick by brick

I was a 15 year old kid with nowhere to fit in I just wanted to skate, listen to my Suicidal tape/when someone told me about a place, where the strange were accepted, and judged by what's inside, a scene of truly open minds, ARE WE STILL THE SCENE OF OPEN MINDS

Do you still believe - I do

I do

Look beyond the 3 chords that fill your lives, look beyond the gossip and the lies, look beyond the dullest of outsides, look beyond/Try harder See what's inside

This burning in my heart, born under the same songs that you know
But our blood will never blend until you let those doors go

hey, now this is my speed. i love coil and nurse with wound.

Brilliant!punx not dead!lol

glad I found this thread since this topic has been on my mind a lot. over the past year since I've gotten sober I've noticed that some of my friends call me "straight edge" now. I listen to hardcore/punk (including a few bands that are sXe) but I don't identify at all with that scene. I have a few sober friends now but they aren't sXe and I'm not "anti" drugs and alcohol; I understand that there are plenty of people who are able to use and enjoy these substances responsibly and I respect their right to do that even though experience has taught me that I AM NOT ONE OF THESE PEOPLE lol. I'm a sober alcoholic, not sXE and I think there's a big difference. i suppose its not as bad as being known as a drunk but it's still annoying to be labelled like that.